The proceedings concerned the issue of whether the Federal Republic of Germany and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia are obliged to provide the plaintiff with funds for further decommissioning operations or even a dismantling of the prototype reactor that was decommissioned as early as in 1989. These funds would probably have had a high three-digit million range. The plaintiff based its claim on a clause in the framework agreement of 1989 which it regarded to contain a financing commitment beyond the initial decontamination period. The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf has now confirmed that the contractual situation does not oblige North Rhine-Westphalia in a legally enforceable manner to assume further costs. In the first instance, the Regional Court of Düsseldorf had already dismissed the claim. 

“The Higher Regional Court shared our legal view: Neither the contractual clause of 1989 nor other circumstances provide for the unconditional subsequent liability of North Rhine-Westphalia for future follow-up costs of nuclear energy”, says Prof. Dr. Olaf Däuper, lawyer and partner at the BBH group (nuclear law, contract law and litigation), who represented the federal state in court. “The decision provides much needed clarity on the distinction between political declarations of intent and enforceable obligations.” Lawyer and BBH partner Markus Ladenburger (insolvency law and litigation), who also provided legal advice in the proceedings, added: “We are delighted that our client has now prevailed in two instances. The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf did not grant leave to appeal to the German Federal Court of Justice on points of law. It will be interesting to see whether the plaintiff will respond with a complaint against denial of leave to appeal.” Both partners are grateful to partner counsel Dr. Sascha Michaels (nuclear law) as well as lawyers Christoph Paul and Eugen Rutkowski (each of them specialising in contract law and litigation) for the extensive support they provided in these proceedings across two instances.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ines Zenke
Rechtsanwältin/Lawyer, Partner
Phone +49 (0)30 611 28 40-179
ines.zenke@bbh-online.de

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